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April 16, 2026

Configure Group Policy to Start Runonce.exe

By default, some applications that rely on the Explorer.exe file may not run in an application session. To avoid this issue, you must configure a GPO setting to start runonce.exe.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that the Group Policy Management feature is available on your Active Directory server.

Procedure

  1. On the Active Directory server, open the Group Policy Management Console.

  2. Expand your domain and Group Policy Objects.

  3. Right-click the GPO that you created for the group policy settings and select Edit.

  4. In the Group Policy Management Editor, navigate to User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Scripts (Logon/Logoff).

  5. Double-click Logon and click Add.

  6. In the Script Name box, type runonce.exe.

  7. In the Script Parameters box, type /AlternateShellStartup.

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